Celtic reign in the rain: Brendan Rodgers turns personal motivation guru for one player - but it's not all positive

On a day of unrelenting downpours and flash flooding all around the country, Celtic continue to reign over the rest of Scottish football.

Reo Hatate put in an impressive performance for Celtic against Kilmarnock.

Brendan Rodgers’ men still have a bit to go before they can bridge the gap to Europe’s best in the Champions League but on the home front they remain the undoubted dominant force as they stretched their lead at the top of the Premiership table to seven points. Their only defeat in domestic circles this season was a shock loss to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup and revenge was duly meted out, even if Celtic once more made their supporters temporarily suffer before easing to a victory that ought to have been achieved by a far greater margin.

Reo Hatate was at the heart of everything. A feeling has lingered since the start of the season that the Japanese has yet to fully win over his new manager but he is gradually getting there, with Rodgers guiding him step by step like a personal motivational guru. Hatate scored Celtic’s first goal, had a role in the second scored by Luis Palma, and was denied additional strikes only by some diligent Kilmarnock defending and goalkeeping. He was the outstanding candidate for the man-of-the-match award.

Poor David Watson will be seeing Hatate’s goal in his nightmares after the midfielder latched onto a quick free kick from Callum McGregor, stuck the ball through Watson’s legs then comfortably held him off before driving a shot into the far corner of the net. It all unfolded in an instant and was the perfect showcase for Hatate’s understated brilliance.

David Watson scored his first goal for Kilmarnock.

He also had an inadvertent role in Celtic’s second goal that looked to have killed the match as a contest stone dead after 33 minutes. Palma was first to react to Joe Wright’s slack ball forward and attempted to play a pass through to Hatate who stood, arms raised, not wanting the ball for fear he was in an offside position. The ball kindly rolled back to Palma, who lashed it high past Will Dennis and waited to see if VAR would deny him for the second successive match, as it had done against Lazio. This time, however, the goal stood, despite Kilmarnock’s persistent protests that rumbled on beyond the final whistle.

It wasn’t all positive from Hatate, however. He took a tumble in the box with Watson again in close attendance, enough for referee Matthew MacDermid to decide the fall merited a penalty. It looked soft at best and VAR agreed, overturning the award.

A third Celtic goal at that point would have had things done and dusted within the hour but instead it was Kilmarnock who made the most of the reprieve. What could have been a day to forget for Watson soon turned into a memorable one for the teenager as he bashed in his first goal for the club. Rodgers and most of Celtic Park felt there had been a foul in the build-up but the strike stood.

Celtic temporarily wobbled but a third goal eliminated any prospect of Kilmarnock wounding them for a second time this season. Watson was again involved, neglecting to mark Greg Taylor who had the simplest task of tapping in at the back post after Matt O’Riley’s corner had been helped on by Daizen Maeda.